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Monday, September 30, 2013

Baby Feet Shadow Box Keepsake - DIY Tutorial

Hi All! Today I want to share with you something that I have been meaning to show you for a while now. I'm talking about Baby Feet! I think Baby Baby Feet are the cutest things ever. Don't worry, it's not a foot fetish... I don't like all feet, only tiny ones ;)

So even before Pinterest was around I had made these shadow boxes of both my children's feet! The one on the left is my son Tomas' at 1 month old (2004) and the one on the right is my daughter Maia's feet also at one month old (2006). They are both soooo very different! The 8x10 frames I used below were bought at IKEA. Now that my kids are older they love to see how small they really were. Today I will share with you how to make your own. You may want to pin this if you have a baby in your life or on its way! Those little tiny feet eventually get huge and not so cute, so if you want to remember how they used to be you might want to give this craft a try!

Very good friends of ours recently had a baby, we were so thrilled when they asked Us to be his God Parents! As a gift to them, I wanted to make little Cristiano his own Baby Feet Shadow Box.

Here is how you can make your own...

You will need two people for this project. (Dad can hold baby, while mom gets crafty, lol!)

You will need a 3D Mold Kit. The one I used was by Precious Impressions that I bought at Micheal's Craft Store. Follow the instructions as directed to create your 3D impression.

Once your impressions have dried, carefully remove the mold. It just peels right off. Because I wasn't too concerned about the top of the feet, those air bubbles don't really bother me. You can always go back and fill those air bubbles in with more plaster.

With a serrated knife I carefully shaved the top of the feet to the depth of my shadow box. You may at this point also sand an smooth down any imperfections that turned up from your molding process (bumps, air bubbles). Once I knew they would fit in the shadow box I brushed the excess dust off with a paint brush.

Next, I took some white acrylic paint and covered the entire surface of each foot. (Bottom first until dry and then the tops). You may want to do two coats to ensure proper coverage. Paint will dry quickly because of the plaster being so porous.

This step is optional but it will seal your feet forever... In a well ventilated room, place your feet on some cardboard or newspaper. Spray your feet with a sealant (I used Triple Thick Gloss Glaze, purchased at Micheal's). If you don't like the gloss look their are mate sealants available. Let the feet completely dry. Once they are completely dry, you are ready to frame them! (I waited another 24 hours).

Here is a close up of the tiny foot! Not so tiny zoomed in, but you can see all his little creases and bumps on his feet. To mount them in the frame I used hot glue and adhered it to card stock.

Before framing the feet I etched Cristiano's name into the glass. Click here for a tutorial of glass etching.

Here is the finished Shadow Box. Love how it turned out! Aren't those little feet so precious? The possibilities are endless with these molds. Frame whatever you like, now that you know how!

Hope this has inspired you to capture some of your own memories! A Keepsake that your child will treasure forever. If your kids are older, it's not too late! Make one of them now or do the whole family (Hands, feet what ever you want to frame)... years from now they will see how small they were at that point in time!

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Previously Designed for

March - October 2013

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If you have been inspired to recreate any of my crafts or want to share my FREEbies please link back to my blog! Please give credit appropriately. All my ideas are my own unless otherwise stated. All my FREEbie files are for personal use and not for resale or redistribution! :)